Molding kids in one’s image is a tradition as old as time. A parent hopes that their progeny follows the same path they took in life and improve upon it. Some even end up surpassing the parent, far superior to the one that produced them. This was the case with Bobby and Barry Bonds, one of the most well-known baseball duos. But as one might expect, constant comparisons did not suit Barry.

The retired slugger took the San Francisco Giants to new heights and a new era. But for the first few years of his MLB debut, Barry Bonds played for the Pittsburgh Pirates. A historically underperforming team, it took some time for the young player to establish a name for himself. And to him, his image was often marred by his father’s name.

Barry Bonds Was Not Overly Fond of Comparisons to Bobby Bonds

Father-son duos in baseball are a phenomenon of their own. Although there is no one quite like the Griffeys, the Bonds played at a time when the Smalleys and the Boones were still fresh in fans’ minds. It was too much for sportswriters to ignore and so writes John Bloom in his Barry Bonds: A Biography.

Bobby’s shadow on MLB had still not quite faded when Barry joined the league. But an endless juxtaposition with a figure one never quite knew how to feel about would tire anyone out. It wasn’t that Bonds despised his father; it was just that he was closer to his mom.

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“Even more infuriating to the young star, sports writers would mistakenly call him “Bobby” in postgame interview sessions early in his career, something that served as a constant irritant to the young star,” writes Bloom on page 17.

He continues on the next page, “San Francisco Chronicle columnist David Steele began his career with the New York Post in 1988. While covering the New York Mets, Steele saw a lot of Bonds and notes that reporters would often make this mistake and that it was clearly something that Bonds found insulting.”

It didn’t help matters that the younger Bonds was playing for a floundering team, although the next few years changed everything.

Bonds Helped the Pirates Achieve New Milestones

There were a few noteworthy names in Pittsburgh that helped the team establish a better name for itself. The foremost among them was Bonds, who is largely credited with turning the club upside down. In the late 80s, the trio of Bonds, Andy Van Sluke, and Bobby Bonilla shone as outfielders.

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Ultimately, the Home Run King more than exceeded the expectations that had been set by his father. He was no longer just the son of Bobby Bonds. Rather, Bobby Bonds was the father of baseball great Barry Bonds.